


Thrill of the Chase

by jazzypizzaz



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Animals, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Slash, Predator/Prey, T for tension I suppose, also rated L for Licking which as we all know is a well-established Quodo trope, but also morbid?? what with the hunting and vague threat of death, it's sweet and a little gross and it makes me happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 11:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jazzypizzaz/pseuds/jazzypizzaz
Summary: I read Watership Down for the first time, then had a night of vivid dreamsabout this art, and it became an AU that wouldn't leave my brain (or my heart).Odo is a cat of sorts.  Quark is a mouse... bat.... thing.  They have a peculiar relationship, as you might expect.





	Thrill of the Chase

Never one to be caught unaware, Odo blinks his eyes open in an abrupt awakening.  He [ stretches out ](http://d39kbiy71leyho.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/06150708/cat-814952_1280-1024x682.jpg) the stiffness of his nap: front paws extend out in front while back legs keep straight, then he [ arches his back ](https://vetstreet-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/a8/74/91e928cb42bfad8b49ac6bd5f555/cat-arching-back-istock-000026991210.jpg) as he stands up on all four legs.  In the wilds of Terok Nor, he has to be ready to pounce and run and climb at all times, but despite its unpredictability, Odo wouldn’t ever go back to before.

 

Growing up among Man (and a particular one named Mora), Odo had been raised in a certain type of dull life -- reprimands prescribed or praises bestowed based on what were to him arbitrary criteria.  Don’t climb on this surface.  Don’t scratch this temptingly clothed structure.  Don’t react aggressively to the Man’s loud unnatural noise machines, but also don’t make too many noises of your own.  Don’t pee outside the box, even as a form of communication or complaint, and so on.

 

Odo doesn’t mind rules -- he relishes them in fact -- but attempting to circumscribe his behavior according to the whims of Man was a futile exercise that lacked any internal sense.

 

Odo had done his best to comply, to maintain peace with Mora, or at least enough to gain the sustenance and stimulation he desired.  The long stretches of nothingness locked in dark rooms while Mora was away, however, with nothing to chase or investigate, became more stifling each passing day.

 

Thus, when he found a window left open one day -- the fresh breeze blowing in with the lively far away scents of other animals into the sterile Man house -- Odo took the opportunity presented and escaped.

 

When awakening in the tedious comfort of the house, Odo’s natural alertness would by necessity give way to stupor.  Here in the wilds, however, even a quiet balmy afternoon isn’t to be taken for granted.  Odo, regenerated from his nap, now [ prowls ](http://www.zastavki.com/pictures/1920x1200/2011/Animals_Cats_Prowling_Cat_031685_.jpg) through the grassy grove, surveying the landscape for sudden movements that might belie a twitching critter rather than the wind.  He keeps his head down and ears perked, paws padding softly on the cool soil.  

 

The faint call of a bird of prey stops Odo in his tracks, and he crouches for a moment before brushing it off as not of any immediate concern.

 

With Odo’s sharp senses and natural clawed defenses, he’s neither a threat to larger predators, nor defenseless against aggressive creatures looking for trouble.  

 

However, navigating the rules of the wilds, though preferable to Man’s, has been a learning process for him.  Animalkind had a social structure that didn’t initially include Odo, as well as unspoken rules that the sentient species seemed to know innately, but that Odo had to learn from scratch, as if he were a newborn kitten.

 

Rule number one: don’t hunt in someone else’s territory, unless you’re able to defend your turf.  Rule number two: it’s not polite to hunt sentient prey (Animals) unless there aren’t enough other critters (animals) --or unless they provoke you.  Rule number three: you’re on your own, and don’t expect anyone to provide for you.

 

Nonetheless, he’s more content than he’s ever been.  Lying in the sun; the rush of dashing to and fro as fast as he likes; chasing and pouncing whatever he wants; wandering and climbing and scratching anywhere that strikes his fancy --  these are all the marks of a good life as far as Odo can tell.

 

And there’s more than enough prey to hunt in the ecological niche he’s been able to carve out for himself.

 

(The satisfaction of accurately tracking a mark; the thrill of the chase; the warmth of fresh meat on his tongue -- all of this is infinitely more preferable than the clinical dry food the Man would give him.)

 

A distressed squeaking reaches Odo’s ears, and he lurches his head around in time to see a disruption in the swaying meadow skyline.  A faint pungency fills his nostrils.

 

Odo smirks to himself and [ shifts into a silent slink ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e9/c4/6e/e9c46eef0dc7a05080e4cc0af02cefbe.jpg)between tufts of sweet vernal and crested dog’s tail.

 

The prey is located.  His afternoon entertainment.

 

\--------------

 

Quark cowers in a tuffet of lilacs, hoping the colourful petals give him adequate coverage until he can make a dash for the forest.  He twitches his saucerous ears, swiveling their concave hollows back and forth for any telltale noises.  A light breeze rustles through the grasses.  Several juicy beetles burrow into the soil.  The far off hum of those strange fast Man beasts filters in from their asphalt habitat.

 

But Quark hears no hint of present danger.

 

The quiet hangs tense in the crisp air, and Quark tries to slow his rapid, shallow breathing -- no sense in passing out like last time, and before he even begins.  

 

Then in a burst, he scampers out from the clump of flowers, short legs and small winged arms tottering awkwardly as he [ races on all fours ](https://pandagif.com/gifs/zO59668YJ3.gif) towards cover.  

 

A shattering screech rips through the air.  The sound awakens a cold dread flooding through his body.   His blood pounds in his ears.  Quark flaps a good foot into the air, before regaining himself, battling the instincts that react as if he were in the safe confines of a cave.  There’s nowhere safe to jump to out in the open meadows.    His thoughts race along with his limbs, a frantic scurry.  In the whirlwind, he doesn’t pay attention to where he’s going, and the small comfort of the grasses gives way to a flat barren space.  

 

Now he’s completely within view and in too much of a panic to figure out where to go next.  

 

This is it!  

 

His breath, his last moments in life!  

 

He had a good run, but no creature lasts forever out in the wilds.  Rom and little Nog won’t last a day without him, but that’s no longer Quark’s problem.  He should have known better, leaving the crowded cozy caves of Ferenginar to stake his own claim out here, with nothing but a rotted out tree to call home.  Unlike Cousin Gaila who had established a _whole cave of his own_ , and Quark bitterly tries to erase that from his mind, not wanting his last thoughts to be of his own shortcomings.  Quark curls up, shaking and screeching, waiting for death.  He wonders if any of his bloody remains will stain the rockface, as a gruesome memorial, or if he’ll be swallowed whole, no trace that he ever existed--

 

“Over here!” hisses a voice.

 

“And why should I listen to you?” Quark gripes, but a cool claw pulls him [down into a dark cleft ](http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCsc3Gja7TAhVLPiYKHeCuBNUQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdurmphoto.photoshelter.com%2Fimage%2FI0000xRACqzjpRNw&psig=AFQjCNHmiFsm0WeCeXb78hERIGJ7uKRo8Q&ust=1492608311755811)in the rock before he can react.

 

From the familiar safety of the shadows, Quark relaxes enough to scope out the source of the screech. He catches a glint of dark gold in the sky above out of the corner of his eye, before it swoops out of sight.  

 

“Oh, it’s only [ Sisko ](http://mondaemonday.tumblr.com/post/150983542023/benjamin-sisko),” Quark murmurs to his unseen savior and breathes a deep sigh of relief.  Quark can hear the mystery creature breathing nearby -- slow heartbeat betraying it as large and not mammalian -- but the way the rock walls curve around them hides any further distinction.  “We’re safe; he prefers --”

 

“Prefers more challenging terrestrials than plump Ferengi rodents, you mean?  More… _tasty_...” the voice sneers, and Quark stomach drops.  

 

He may have run out of the eagle’s talons and into the mouth of a new foe.

 

“He likes fish!  Tasty salty fish!  And liz-- Lizards!”  Quark whines and backs up against rock face, trying to ease away from the creature.  “Although all those scales _can’t_ be pleasant --”

 

“Tooooo _crunch_ on,” the voice menaces.  Quark catches a glimpse of flashing dark eyes, as the creature lunges towards him.  Its mouth opens, showing off a set of dangerous pointy teeth.  

 

Quark gulps.  “I'm sure you're a perfectly -- uhh -- _pleasant_ fellow, but I must be leaving--”

 

A tongue flits out towards Quark’s face and --

 

Snatches a large roach scuttering along the rock right behind Quark’s head.

 

An imposing Lizard, about twice Quark’s weight, slithers out from the cleft onto the top of the rockface, his feet easily sticking to the surface on the way up.  He licks his lips as he [lounges ](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/komodo-dragon-basking-shade-varanus-komodoensis-also-known-as-monitor-large-species-lizard-found-indonesian-40925582.jpg)out on the sunny surface and stretches luxuriously.  The Lizard glances down at Quark, as he picks at his teeth with his claw.  “Relax.  The skies are clear now, no sense subjecting yourself to that enclosure any longer than necessary.  And _I_ was only looking for a snack.”

 

“You must be Garak ,” Quark says.  “They said there was still a Cardassian Lizard about.”

 

“Did they?” Garak says lazily, his eyes drooping as he basks.  “Mmm well tell that Cat of yours I’m minding my own business.  He simply _never_ believes me.”

 

“Cat?  I don’t have a Cat, why would I have a Cat?”  Quark says unconvincingly.  “We’re not friends.”

 

“Who said anything about friends?”  Garak half-opens one eye in a slippery smirk.  “I only meant the one tailing you, from the east.”  

 

“The _east_?  That can't be right.”  Quark wedges himself between the rock walls -- it’s too narrow to flap -- then shimmies up far enough to [pop his head out ](http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwitksLZja7TAhVGeCYKHQMkCvcQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhome.earthlink.net%2F~stremington%2Fid2.html&psig=AFQjCNHmiFsm0WeCeXb78hERIGJ7uKRo8Q&ust=1492608311755811)from the rock cleft and cocks his ear to the side.  Nothing of note, except a couple [squirrels ](http://trekcore.com/gallery/albums/weyoun/bloodandwater_475.jpg)chittering about.  “Or is it a second one?  Stranger things have happened -- the first Cat for example.”

 

“No _earthly_ idea why you’re asking me, but if I were you I’d scurry off to whatever hidey hole you usually cower in.  Sometimes the bugs here in my boulder just aren’t enough, do you know what I mean?”

 

“If you’re tired of beetles, I recommend relocating near the river -- there’s great slug foraging.”   Quark gulps.  _And it’s far away from me!_ Those sharp lizard teeth were meant for chewing more than slugs or beetles, but Quark doesn’t plan to stick around long enough to test that out.

 

“Mmmm, indeed _,_ ” Garak drawls, betraying no intention of taking that suggestion.  

 

Quark heaves a couple quick breaths and then bounds off.  He darts between clumps of grass and several sparse bushes, before an idea shines through his panicked haze.  

 

Quark doubles back towards the lilacs.  Maybe this time, _he'll_ win.

 

\-------------

 

The game they play -- the game of Odo and Quark, of Cat and Mouse -- began one fortuitous spring day.

 

Odo, freshly escaped and exploring outside for the first time, had wandered into Terok Nor from the surrounding countryside thin as a river reed, bedraggled, and in low spirits.  Some wild instincts had emerged -- the need to pounce and attack helped keep him fed with the occasional mouse -- but many more dinners were lost to his own ignorance.  

 

There was also the run in with a colony of Cardassian Lizards, who taunted him: “Fluffy naïve pet!  Is this your first time among us Creatures?  There’s no Man to coddle you here, to feed you fishes and pet your fur until you fall asleep.  Do you even know how to kill?  Well go ahead then!  Show us!  Catch a mouse for us, prove yourself.”

 

This led Odo to sleep in a tree for several rainy days, not wanting to confront their uncomfortable reminder that perhaps he was no more a Creature of the wild than he was a Creature of Man.

 

In any case, after finally slipping away when the sun came back out and the lizards basked lazy in the noon heat, Odo had been hungry and lonely and irritated.  Thus he did what cats were born to do and tried to pounce on the first creature he saw, prudence be damned.

 

Unfortunately, unlike the mice Odo had been able to snag, this rodent jumped _straight upwards_ before unfolding his ungainly limbs to reveal wings!   He spread his arms wide like a bird, flapping upwards until he latched[ onto the bark](http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiOy_qCja7TAhVEKiYKHavIAqUQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bats.org.uk%2Fpages%2Fbiodiversity_policy_lobbying.html&psig=AFQjCNHkvRFM0teirpp0lkb4lpiS5xZJ4g&ust=1492608193659965) of a tree five feet up.

 

Before Odo could scramble up after it, the creature -- or rather Creature -- then had the _nerve_ to talk to him!

 

“Well well well, what do we have here?” the winged menace leered down at him.  His body quivered, but he didn’t make any attempt to flap further away.  “I haven’t seen the likes of your kind around here.”

 

“Why don’t you come down here and take a closer look?”  Odo called up, baffled at what this prey could possibly hope to accomplish in this situation.  Even weak and inexperienced, a Cat was more likely to come out ahead -- or at least, why would the Rodent risk it?

 

“Those are some mighty fine claws you’ve got there, I’ll admit that, but the rest of you could use some work.  A little finesse wouldn’t go amiss, hunter.”

 

“ _Y_ _ou’re_ critiquing _my_ technique, bug-eater?”  Odo was taken aback by this improbable creature -- clearly frozen in fear on the tree trunk, but still with the nerve to complain at Odo as if they were on the same footing.

 

“ _Bug_ -eater?  Is that what passes for an insult these days?  You know what, I can tell you’re new here, so I’ll cut you a deal.  You could use… an ally.  That could be me, Quark the Ferengi, a very important resident of this grove.  I don’t know what _you_ are, but whatever it is all I know is that right now _I_ could make a better one than you.”

 

“Oh _really_.  By flopping onto a tree?  Hmph!”  Odo [sat down](https://www.yourpetspace.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/maine-coon.jpg), cocking his head with curiosity.  The bug-eater’s -- Quark's -- bravado was so clearly a transparent front.  A bad attempt to position himself as having the upper hand in the interaction, but unlike with the Lizards, the insults didn’t bother Odo at all.  The fact was, this quivering creature was the first one Odo had met in the wilds to even bother talking to him as an equal.  As an Animal, and one who belonged in the wilds, no matter where he came from.  

 

Plus, this was the first amusing conversation -- the first enjoyable interaction -- Odo had had in… well, in a lifetime.  

 

“I’ve stopped you from attacking, haven’t I?”  the creature sneered.  “Besides, if you keep me alive I can help you out, tell you where the best birds are, for your dinner.  They keep stealing all the best grubs from me.  It’s a win-win.”

 

“Hmph.”  Odo considered.  “I’ll let you get away, this time, but only with the hopes of drawing in tastier prey.  If word gets around I’ve let such a pathetic thing as _you_ live, they’ll surely walk right into my mouth.”

 

“Hah!” the strange creature named Quark said derisively, but a wide smile crossed his face, and he was able to relax out of his frozen fear enough to shimmy further up the tree.

 

And thus their great rivalry began.

 

Quark strengthened Odo’s novice hunting skills, there was no denying that, and his insights into the workings of the Animal society of the wilds also had their occasional benefits.  (Although sorting out fact from overdramatized fiction was another matter.)  On the other hand, Odo’s presence in Quark’s grove meant crueler, less discerning predators kept their distance, and the tricks Quark could experiment with to escape Odo’s clutches honed his own survival skills.

 

But the truth remains that one is a Cat and another a Mouse (of sorts).  They played the game, one chasing the other, day after day, but the thing about games is that eventually somebody wins.  

 

And in a game of predator versus prey, there’s really only one eventual outcome.

 

\------------------

 

Quark, after rolling himself in soft fragrant petals, creeps softly through the thicket, now within jumping distance of his rotted home and confident in his escape.

 

The Cat twitches his tail from side to side, crouching as he prowls silently within pouncing distance.

 

Quark crouches, tension coiled in his legs and wings outstretched, ready to flap up inside the tree.

 

The Cat [ shifts his weight ](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/78/8e/de/788edea92bf74f046d3bceac38ee874e.gif) from side to side, loosening up his muscles for the attack.

 

Quark springs upwards -- so close to safety, so close to success-- the pride swelling in his chest, and he can almost smell the cozy stink of a Ferengi home, but then --

 

From nowhere, he’s [hit ](https://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/mg_cat_bat_comp002.png?w=748&h=427&crop=1)with full furry impact of an assailant slamming him into the ground.

 

Quark’s heart pounds with the instinctual panic rising in his belly.  The Cat pins him to the ground, resting his heavy paws onto Quark’s shoulders, pinning him.  The Cat sniffs at Quark, his tail swishing slowly back and forth in perplexion.  Quark flails underneath his captor, but when the predator's claws start to extend Quark lets out a piercing shriek instead.

 

“Hey!  Watch those!  It’s been too dry recently, my skin is _delicate_ ,” Quark whines, and irritation takes the place of his panic.

 

“Not enough slime in your tree?” Odo says, ears flicking backwards briefly in disgust as he nudges his nose against Quark’s wrinkled mostly-hairless skin.  “You smell like you bathed in potpourri.  I didn’t think anything could smell worse than your usual stench, but it is _not_ an improvement.”

 

“I was _hoping_ that it would confuse you, addle your senses so you wouldn’t _find_ me.”  

 

“Hmph,” Odo says, a bit disgruntled.  “And trick every predator into thinking that you’re not a dank and grisly creature of decay.”

 

“Well, Odo?  Is today the day you finally decide to do it?  Rip into my flesh like the unfeeling, rodent-eating monster that you are?  Or are you still too _domesticated_ , tainted by Man and too soft to fend for yourself?  You could do both you know, bat me around like I know you Cats like to do until you’ve had your fill of demented fun, then bring back my half-alive body as a present for your _master._  Which is it -- are you my enemy, or my enemy _and_ a servant to those destroyers of --”

 

Odo listens, twitching his tail in agitation.  He flicks his ears back, then opens his mouth and ---

 

“EEeeeee!” Quark warbles and flails around, as Odo’s sandpaper tongue licks longs stripes across his skin.  “Wha -- _what_ do you think you’re doing?!”

 

“Cleaning you,” Odo says calmly.  He flops down on the ground, his front legs stretched across Quark’s torso to hold him in place as he licks him clean.  “You’re disgusting.  I can’t have an herbivore mistaking you for a patch of clovers, tasting your plump flesh before I get a chance.”

 

“They were -- _lilies_ !  You -- you weren't supposed to --”  Quark says, but mid-sentence Odo’s licking stimulates a new sensation, and to his horror Quark feels _joy_ and the uncontrollable urge to _giggle_.  He flaps around, trying to wriggle free, but Odo easily keeps him pinned.  How undignified!

 

If Quark were to bite Odo on the foot with a quick nip, he could probably startle him into letting him go… but Quark finds himself not, in fact, _wanting_ to be free of Odo, or at least not just yet.

 

(There's a strange intimacy welling up inside Quark, and the cathartic warmth of the rough tongue tickling his sides melts away the panic of his afternoon.)

 

He has to show no fear, that’s it -- that’s why.  Letting Odo groom him is part of a bluff, to show he’s not threatened.

 

“Hold still,” Odo admonishes.  “If you’re too easy to track, it’s no fun.”  Quark scowls, but eventually he becomes desensitized to the ticklish sensation and is able to slow down from a flail to naught but an occasional twitch under Odo’s tongue.

 

Odo’s warm softness surrounds him, as annoying as that is, and the musky smell of his fur, along with the methodical grooming reminds Quark of the crowded hypersocial cave colony he grew up in.  There may not have been enough food to support the population -- necessitating a number of unlucky Ferengi pups to be evicted and strike out on their own -- but as much as Quark is loathe to admit it, he misses the company.   He misses the closeness of a hundred squawking relatives huddled together, wing-elbows poking in his eye, the guano on the bottom of the cave piling high and--

 

Okay, so he doesn’t miss _every_ aspect of Ferenginar, but three lonely Ferengi huddling in one rotted log is hardly enough to feel secure.  Despite himself -- despite the claws and teeth adjoined to the creature trapping him -- Quark droops off, relaxed and safe under Odo’s care.

 

Eventually Odo’s tongue slows, his body rumbling with vibrations, and there’s a moment of sleepy contentedness between them.  Maybe Odo misses having someone to groom and chase.  Quark has never met a Cat before this far into the wilds -- they’re primarily a Man’s creature -- so he doesn’t know if Cats are supposed to be solitary creatures, but it can’t be natural not to have _any_ family around.  Maybe Odo is as lonely as Quark; lonelier even, because as worthless as his brother is, Odo doesn’t even have Rom.

 

Odo stares at Quark a moment.  His eyes droop slowly closed, then open, then repeats.  Quark mimics him, not sure what it means, waiting.  Odo leans in closer -- Quark notes the proximity of those sharp incisors but strangely doesn’t feel any inclination to react -- and rubs his head against Quark’s.  

 

Nuzzling him.

 

Quark lets out a surprised warble.  Odo jerks his head back, eyes wide as if Quark had tricked him into this.  This weird moment has gone on long enough, and Quark would rather he be the one to say what happens next.  He leers at Odo, landing a quick peck of his tiny teeth on Odo’s nose.  Odo jumps off of him, hissing and puffing his fur to twice the size.

 

Quark takes advantage of the opportunity and finally flaps up into the rotted dankness of his home.

 

“Don’t wait out there all day!  I heard there’s a Wolf roaming through these parts, and you wouldn’t want to fight her for territory.”

 

“You can’t stay in there forever!  I’ll be stalking you when you least suspect it.”

 

“I wouldn't expect anything less!”

 

And the chase continues.  

 

Predator stalks prey.  Prey escapes predator.  They both insult each other.

 

(And, on rare occasion, a moment of affection slips through -- an understanding between two creatures who, against all odds, belong more to each other than the wilds they attempt to call “home”.)

 

Neither triumphs over the other, and the balance never changes, but sometimes in the land of Creatures -- only a very rare sometimes -- this is the way it’s meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> another of [snoozy's delightful arts](http://snoozlebee.tumblr.com/post/159656526051/i-cant-be-stopped-not-even-by-my-own-guts)
> 
> recommended reading: Paratale's fic about [Odo tickling Quark ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9108004) is unbearably cute


End file.
